Little Harwood Family Hub hosted the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel De Souza, on 21 May 2026 as she visited Blackburn with Darwen to launch her latest survey for children and young people.
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Parents, staff and children welcomed her to the hub, where she was given a tour of the service and told about the support on offer at Little Harwood.
The hub is one of four Best Start Family Hubs in the borough, alongside Darwen, Livesey and Shadsworth.
Councillor Julie Gunn, Executive Member for Children, Young People & Education, attended the visit and said: “It was a pleasure to meet with the Children’s Commissioner and share the incredible work that our Children’s Services do, day in, day out to support our borough’s families. I’m always proud to see the response of high-profile visitors when they see the passion and commitment that we have in Blackburn with Darwen to making sure that every child and young person has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The work of our Family Hubs is crucial in helping children become school ready and sharing how we do that with the Commissioner was a real joy.”
Dame Rachel then met children at the hub, where they talked about what makes them happy in their world and shared cards showing what they would like to see in theirs.
During the visit, the hub was also running its usual activities, including Infant Feeding Support Group, Stay and Play Group, Toileting Workshop, Two Year Development Checks, Midwifery Appointments, Smoking Cessation Support and a Family Help Multi-disciplinary team meeting.
Dame Rachel has previously carried out the two largest-ever surveys of children, The Big Ask in 2021, which received more than half-a-million responses, and The Big Ambition in 2024.
This visit was also used to launch her final survey, The Big Future, which she says will build on the voices she has already captured to present young people’s ideas to politicians and policy makers. She also visited Blackburn Youth Zone.
More information on The Big Future is available at childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/the-big-future/.
